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A US drone strike in the restive tribal region in Pakistan near the Afghani border killed at least four militants on Monday. The attack happened at 20:15 GMT in Mangrotai in Shawal district, South Waziristan – the region is considered to be a Taliban stronghold.
“A U.S. drone fired two missiles targeting a center run by Uzbek rebels, killing four militants”, a senior Pakistani security official was quoted saying by AFP. Another security official confirmed the strikes and the casualties reported, but the identities of those killed have not been revealed yet. According to officials, a US drone struck another Uzbek facility in the same region, killing at least five militants.
South Waziristan and six other lawless tribal districts in Pakistan are along the Afghan border. The semi-autonomous regions have for years been a militant stronghold for different groups, including the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), the al-Qaeda and foreign fighters like the Uighurs and the Uzbeks. Washington has pressed Islamabad to wipe out these havens for years, where militants have hidden and launched attacks on NATO troops in Afghanistan.
In June, the Pakistani military had launched a large-scale anti-militant offensive in North Waziristan, and has said that over 1,000 militants and 86 soldiers have been killed in the operation so far. The region is off-limits to journalists, and is therefore next to impossible to verify the identities of the dead and the total death toll independently.
Pakistan has protested US drone strikes for years – since 2004, the US has been targeting extremists in the tribal parts of Pakistan. It says that the strikes violate its sovereignty, and that the measures are counterproductive in its fight against terror.
Most analysts believe that the resumption of the US drone program, reportedly to give Pakistan room for talks with the Taliban, is proof of collusion between the two nations. Both the Pakistani government and Pakistani military officials, however, have strongly denied any such claims.